Starbase

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File:Starbase 11, TOS remastered.jpg
Planetside facilities of Starbase 11 (2267)
File:Deep space 9.jpg
Deep Space 9, formerly a Cardassian station placed under Starfleet administration (2376)

A starbase was a permanent support facility operated by Starfleet, consisting of space stations, drydocks, and/or ground installations. Starbases were hubs of activity and could serve multiple military and civilian functions.[1][2][3]

In late 2154, Earth Starfleet vessel Enterprise was assigned to scout Berengaria VII as a potential site for the first of a series of proposed starbases. (ENT: "Bound") By 2167, Starbase 12 was in operation, Starbase 343 by 2256, and new bases were still being established as of the 2360s, e.g., Farpoint Station, Starbase 173, and Deep Space 9. (DIS: "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad"; TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "The Measure Of A Man", "Power Play"; DS9: "Emissary")

Most Federation starbases were commanded by Starfleet officers, often a flag officer (e.g., TOS: "Court Martial", "The Deadly Years"; TNG: "The Measure Of A Man", "Redemption II", "Starship Mine"; DS9: "Whispers"). Some, such as Deep Space Station K-7, were under civilian authority. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles")

Federation starbases offered multiple services and amenities, often considerably larger and superior to that of any starship; these included:

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Background information[edit | edit source]

In the final draft script of TOS: "Mudd's Women" (dated 26 May 1966), this type of facility was called a "starship base".

In the episode,[4] this type of facility was called a "command base".

According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 316), over five hundred starbases were located throughout Federation space and beyond.

As Starbase 343 was in existence by 2256 (DIS: "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad"), the establishment of Starbase 173 (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man") almost a century later indicates that either Starfleet was not following a simple arithmetic naming system, or that the name "Starbase 173" had previously been held by a different installation.

The second draft script of TNG: "The Inner Light" referred to Starbase 243, although that facility has not been referenced in canon.

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